A Vicksburg man was one of three Mississippians arrested by federal authorities for making false claims to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for Hurricane Katrina relief funds.

Bryan Michael Beets, 33, was released from federal custody on $10,000 bond Thursday after being named in a criminal complaint Tuesday alleging Beets improperly received $2,000 in individual assistance.

Two Meridian men, Henry Jerome Armstrong and Markqus Antonio Brown, were also charged with filing false claims. Armstrong remained in jail today, in Madison County, an official with the U.S. Marshal Service said. Brown was released on $10,000 bond.

If convicted each would face a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to the complaint, Beets used the address of a rental property in Long Beach his ex-wife was renting at the time of Hurricane Katrina to file a damage claim.

After his ex-wife contacted the State Department, agents expedited a records check of a national emergency management database. It revealed Beets claimed the Long Beach property as his primary residence and that it was damaged in Hurricane Katrina.

A $2,000 individual assistance check was mailed to 4223 N. Frontage Road, in the Bienville Apartments and Townhomes complex, which was being leased to two women, one of whom is believed to be a female companion of Beets, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Dowdy of Jackson said.

Special agents with the Office of Inspector General spoke to the managers of the complex, who recalled a late night party on the night of Sept. 16 where one of the women told them they were celebrating &#8221because someone got a FEMA check.“

His employment status as a salesman at a Vicksburg automobile dealership was verified by agents during the investigation.

The investigation was part of the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force, created by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in September to investigate and prosecute disaster-related federal crimes like charity fraud, identity theft, procurement fraud and insurance fraud.

The task force includes members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Trade Commission, the Postal Inspector’s Office and the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, among others.

U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton of Jackson said authorities are also investigating an organized ring of individuals from Louisiana who received multiple checks from a Red Cross service center in Jackson.

In a statement, Lampton said the hurricane has &#8221brought out the best in people and the worst in people. Sadly, the people committing these crimes are taking money away from the real victims of the hurricane.“

Lampton said two other people charged with making false claims have not been apprehended yet.